Forbidden Secret
by DarkFiresOfTheSoul
Summary: What if Voldemort's worst fear, Love, that which he never understood, was sewing its way through the best known students of Hogwarts before the battle began?
1. Chapter 1

The swish of silk woke him, and groggily he stirred as a soft, cool hand caressed his naked thigh exposed to the drafty castle air. "Dee… wake up…" a voice whispered in his ear, followed by a soft kiss to his neck. His hand whipped up to clutch a handful of hair, and pulled the face back down as it withdrew; kissing the lips that just a moment ago raised goose bumps on his flesh. Passionately they both moaned, and entwined themselves to each other. "Dee… not here… they'll wake up and we'll be caught…" her voice whispered frantically. He growled and bit her lip, pushing her off him as he sat up and ran a hand through his hair. "Well, where to now?" he inquired, shooting her a frustrated look. Meeting his eyes she grinned. "Back to the Dungeons, the Room of Requirement, I rather enjoyed the bullwhip that was there the other night by the way, or the Shack" She said wickedly, getting a slap to the back of the head in response. In a flash he was out of bed, clutching her by the arm and down the hall they went, silent as ghosts.

Shutting the door and bolting it behind them, Draco whipped around to find Hermione already naked and lounging on her stomach across the low velvet-covered bed that appeared in the room, surrounded by candles. His eyes blazed at her as she looked back at him, that devilish smile that no one had seen but him. In a few quick movements he removed his dressing robe and stood before her, his pale skin and hair glowing in the candlelight. "Don't move," he growled as he slunk slowly on top of her, nibbling up her body, making her whimper as he did so.

"God, Hermione… why do you drive me so crazy… all I've wanted to do all day was this…" he whispered as he dragged his fingers across her thighs, and into the warm, wet crevice of her pussy. She arched her back, moaning as he stroked her inside and out, nibbles turning to passionate bites on her upper back and neck. "Yes…. Oh God Draco, don't tease me tonight… please." She said between gasps, his stroking turning from gentle to rough. She could feel his hard cock against her ass, and wiggled so it slid nearer to want she wanted. He chuckled and moved so she couldn't get her way so easily. "Uh uh… I wanna do something I haven't done yet." He taunted. Flipping her on her back he threw her legs behind her head, and pinning her still, as he lowered his head to her pussy, and nibbled on her clit. She cried out, shuddering and thrusting her hips at him. He drove his tongue into her, over and over as he pinched and stroked her clit. Near screaming at his antics, she thrust her hips harder and faster. Near her climax he stopped, and she growled frustrated at him. Mounting her, he thrust his cock deep inside her, throwing her legs over his shoulders as she dug her nails into his ass.

"Oh, yes, Draco… fuck me baby!" she cried in his ear as he bit her neck hard. He obliged her, thrusting harder and harder, pounding her insides as hard as he could. Both near screaming in passion, she came first, her juices exploding around his cock, muscles milking him hard. He shuddered and bit her nipple, still thrusting as he came soon after her.

They lay still, he still atop and inside her, breathing hard. "God damn…" she whispered, panting, "Why do you drive me so crazy?"

He chuckled, shaking his head. "I wonder that myself… no one would believe this has been happening since third year. Crabbe thinks I'm boning Pansy, and Goyle thinks I may be gay."

She laughed. "Ginny is of the impression I'm sleeping with a 7th year who can break me in half by the look of him, and Harry and Ron refused to acknowledge I'm not a virgin." They laughed heartily, and started to dress.

"Same time tomorrow night, love?" Draco asked her, helping her lace her nightgown back in place, planting a hot, passionate bite on her shoulder blade. "Hmmm, oh yes. This time, I'm on top."

Hand in hand they left the room, the door disappearing behind them, and split up outside the Great Hall. "Maybe we should try the Quidditch Field when it gets warmer." Draco sneered at her before departing, leaving her quivering as she walked away as well.

"Goodnight, my forbidden secret…"

"Goodnight," he whispers so only the ghosts of the students past could hear, "my redeemer."

/

"Hermione, why the bloody hell are you so tired lately? I see you nodding off in class all the time, even in Defense Against the Dark Arts!" Ron poked her, whispering as not to alert Snape who patrolled study hall.

She flicked his shoulder, irritated that he even asked. "I told you I have a social life, it's just a nocturnal one. Why do you care? You were the same way last year when you had that fling with Pavarti. At least I didn't start snoring in Transfiguration." She snapped quietly, Harry snickered beside her as Ron's face turned crimson.

"Told you, mate." He whispered, earning a flick from Hermione himself.

Ron grumbled and looked back to his notes, stealing glances at Hermione's neck. "Looks like you got hit with a bludger…" he whispered to no one, causing Hermione to pull her collar up.

~*~*~

Halfway down the Great Hall at another table, Draco was being unusually quiet, according to his friends. He kept fiddling with his quill, staring off into space, earning strange looks from Crabbe, who kept glancing at Pansy as if trying to prove his theory. She was no help, looking at Draco and visibly trying not to cry. Elbowing Goyle, he whispered, "So who do you think it is making him so calm lately? And don't say what I know you're going to say because its bollocks." Goyle shrugged, clearly torn on his own opinion of his friends' behavior.

"I'm not going to admit anything, so shove off the both of you." Draco growled after turning back to his homework, trying to look as if he was only debating on what to write next. "You'd better get back on the Potions homework, you're both near failing as it is." Earning raised eyebrows from anyone in earshot that Draco actually cared about schoolwork, they shook their heads.

"I hope you're discussing better grammar, boys." Came the silky voice of Snape, who stopped and hovered behind them.

Draco glanced up at his teacher and shrugged. "All I was saying is they needed to get back to work and quit whispering about things, sir." Snape nodded, and slunk away to surprise a few Ravenclaws passing notes. Draco glared at his friends, and packing up his books, got up and headed out to the grounds.

~*~*~

Later that night, Hermione was dozing off in the Common Room when a small tapping woke her. She looked about, finally pinpointing the noise to the lower window near the stairs. She peeked out, and spotted Draco from the roof across from the tower, enchanting rocks to rise up and hit the glass. He shot her a wicked smile, and motioned for her to meet him in the gardens below, then jumped on his broom and dove down in the air. She smiled to herself, and making sure no one was around, ran to meet him.

He was laying on the edge of the small fountain, arms folded behind his head. She came and sat before him, and he turned and laid his head on her lap. She gave him a queer look, as he only did this when they had a serious discussion.

"I don't want to stay my last year…" he admitted softly. "All this going on… don't really want any part of it." Hermione paused in her stoking his hair. They'd agreed never to speak of these things when their affair first started, for detachment purposes.

"Dee… why are you telling me this? Didn't we say that…" but he didn't let her finish. He pulled her down and kissed her deeply, stopping any thought process on what he had said. She groaned, clutching his hair, earning a bite to her lip. Breaking the kiss he sat up and looked her in the eyes.

"I tell you this because I… oh I don't know… things have gotten hard to stick to lately. You're all I think about lately and it's really frustrating me." He looked away.

She gulped, and took a breath. "Maybe we should end this before it really complicates things…" she whispered, half hoping he didn't hear her. He went still then, and in a whirl of movement grabbed her by the arms and stared at her. "Never say that again. You want to know why? Because I bloody well love you and I know it's treason against my family and everything I'm supposed to stand for to love you. I tried not to, I tried to pretend the sex was just sex, but when 4th year was over and I went home, I couldn't sleep for weeks. I just stayed in my room or went out on my broom for so long my mother thought I'd run away. You drive me insane, and change every way I've ever looked and thought about everything… which drives me even farther up the wall." He bit his lip, glaring fiercely at her.

Eyes wide and heart pounding, she gulped again. "I… um… well, I have to second that confession…" she replied meekly, cheeks blazing.

He blinked a few times, as if trying to let her admission sink it. He got up and dragged her on his broom with him. "Come on, we're going for a ride." He situated her against his back, making sure she had a firm grip on his waist, her legs wound around his, and kicked off the ground, flying high and away from the castle.

High above the gardens looking out from a window, a face half hidden in shadow watched them leave, a face stricken with surprise and somewhat disgust before receeding into the shadows.

~*~*~


	2. Chapter 2

Walking through the halls the next morning, Hermione found it hard to hide the small smile that kept creeping on her face. She and Draco didn't return until just before sunrise, and while her body and mind were exhausted, her heart was high on life. But one small foreboding thought kept her from skipping to her next class. The knowledge of their secret weighed heavy on her, and the fact that it was going to be impossible for her to tell anyone about anything having to do with it. Although Draco said he felt the same way, she knew it was harder for her. If his family and friends found out, they'd probably try to kill her. She snorted when she imagined the look on his parents faces. His mother would probably die of mortification and his father... god only knew the twisted and evil things that man was capable of doing to his own flesh and blood, she thought to herself as she sat down next to Harry in Potions. Although lost in her thoughts, she was fully aware of Draco's presence across the dungeon classroom.

Harry glanced at her, and elbowed her arm. "Everything ok, Hermione? You're off in another world again." he whispered. "You know no matter what it is you can tell me. I know Ron is pissed you're occupied with someone, but I think it's about time you found some happiness outside of everything."

She smiled at him and nodded. "I don't think I can tell you, but thank you for being such a friend." She quietly took a deep breath, feeling eyes on her, knowing one pair belonged to Ron, and another to Draco. Unknown to her, a third pair of eyes were on her, curiosity filled as they watched.

Returning to the common room with her fellow Gryffindors after dinner, she collapsed on her bed. She and Draco both agreed to rest tonight, having not slept at all the night before. It wasn't arguable that they didn't want to spend the night without one another, but they both had circles under their eyes and needed to sleep. She ran her fingers through her hair, stretching her body out and sighed.

In the boy's dormitory, Harry sat in the window looking out onto the grounds, thinking hard about Hermione. He wasn't jealous of whatever she had with whomever, but desperately wanted to know who it was just to make sure she wouldn't get hurt. He tried to run though his head who it could be, but no one he thought of would be worthy of her keeping so silent about it. The thought of the guy being someone he wouldn't of thought of made him shiver.

"Bollocks! We've been friends for how long and she can't tell us about it!" Ron shot at him from behind his curtains, somehow reading Harry's train of thought. "Maybe it's a teacher… but damn it, I wanna know why she can't trust her two closest friends and tell us!" he grumbled.

Harry shook his head, smiling. "Mate, it's no business of ours if she doesn't want to say anything. It can't be a teacher, and you're jealous." he said. Tossing a Chocolate Frog wrapper out from behind the curtains at him, he snorted.

"So what, maybe I'm just worried about her, huh? She could have been slipped a love potion and is carrying on with this bloke against her will… maybe she's under the Imperious Curse, who bloody knows!? It's just pissing me off!"

Harry tuned him out, trying not to snicker at his best mates ranting. He saw a figure, cloaked and running towards the Forbbidon Forest from the castle gardens, a broom carried alongside. He straightened and looked harder, trying to tell if it was a boy or girl, student or teacher. He noticed the broom was black, and sat back a moment. 'Nimbus 2001's are black… and the Slytherin Quidditch team members are the only ones with those…' he thought quickly. His automatic thought went to Draco Malfoy, and he leaned his head back against the wall. 'What's he up to,' he thought. In the silence he realized Ron had finally shut up and was snoring away. Harry got up and went to his trunk, pulling out the Invisibility cloak. He pulled it over him and left, heading on the path where who he assumed was Draco had headed.

/

Walking as quietly as he could, Draco slipped through the trees in the Forbiddon Forest, glancing about from beneath his hood. The eerie silence of the forest did nothing to slow his pace, but made him clench his teeth and keep going.

A little ways behind him, Harry followed under his Invisibility cloak, as quiet as he could be. Where the hell is he going and why? he thought, narrowly avoiding a fall into a dip in the path. He narrowed his eyes and kept after him.

Moments later, the twang of an arrow hitting the ground in front of Draco stopped his pace. Hoof beats echoed near as Draco pulled the hood from his head as he came face to face with Firenze.

"What can I do for you, young Malfoy? Whatever brings you this deep into the woods must be urgent indeed. Perhaps I can help you, something within your heart drives you to seek guidance…"

Malfoy cleared his throat, a little taken aback by the centaur and took a breath. "I… I just need to speak to someone outside of it all, well for the most part at least. Um… it's a personal matter but one you might be able to help me with." Firenze nodded, and gestured for him to walk alongside him as they talked.

Harry was far enough to remain hidden but close enough to hear their conversation. He knew Firenze well, and knew he was aware of his presence but also knew he would never alert Draco to it.

After overhearing Draco explain his entire story to the centaur, Harry was beyond surprised. Ron's name coming out of the Goblet of Fire last Halloween as a FIFTH contestant would have been less surprising then this. Malfoy, the bigoted self-righteous pompous ass, in LOVE with Hermione "the mudblood" Granger! It was unbelieveable! Unlikely!

Half him wanted to charge over to Malfoy and pummel him straight into his 7th year, but the other half understood as Dumbledore's closest student that maybe this kind of love is worth encouraging. He stumbled backwards a bit turning around, and walked slowly back to the castle, letting it all sink in.

Firenze glanced in Harry's direction briefly when Draco wasn't looking, and hid a smile, as he was afraid to let him hear and have him over-react. Turning back to the task at hand, he smiled down at Draco.

"When I first laid eyes on you, young Malfoy, I thought your heart closed off and your eyes blind to all but what your upbringing has taught. But I see Dumbledore's influence and guidance is affecting you in the way he had intended. Follow your heart, young one. The Dark Lord's most powerful weapon is the lack and acknowledgement of love. Unlocking the door that divides your world and hers gives your kind and others around you the greatest defense against the darkness. Now that the evil has again revealed itself, I hope we have a chance. If you are confused, I repeat myself. Follow your heart and..." and he trailed off gazing at the stars.

Draco let his words settle in his mind, and sighed. Firenze broke his gaze from the night sky and back at the young wizard. "I must return to my duty and you to your bed. I hope my words have eased your hectic thoughts. I do hope we meet again." Charging off, he left Draco standing and staring up through the trees at the nearly full moon.

Harry was deep in thought, sitting on a stump near Hagrid's cabin, and like Draco he was also looking up at the moon. A small part of him wished he hadn't followed Draco. 'I'll never be able to play dumb about this,' he thought. 'And just think, Ron is going to blow his top off!'

Draco was just passing away from the forest when he looked to his right and spotted a figure sitting outside Hagrid's hut. Curiosity fought his fatigue but lost to the latter, and he kept walking, still deep in thought.

Getting up and heading back as well, Harry spotted him many yards ahead, and fought the urge to run up to him. 'Leave it alone, Harry. Stay out of this one,' he told himself, and took a roundabout way back to bed.

"HARRY! WAKE UP MATE!"

Startled from his conflicting dreams, Harry sat up, still in bed, the sun blazing through the window. Ron stood next to his head, a weird look on his face.

"You slept through breakfast and Transfiguration! I had to tell McGonagall you had some issues with your scar all night and barely slept. She's mad as hell and told me to wake you now or we'll both lose 20 points. What's wrong, Harry? Was I right? Is your scar bothering you?" he asked, looking worried.

Harry took a breath. "Yeah… something like that…" and got out of bed, not looking at his best friend, hating himself he had to lie to him. While he got dressed, Ron chattered away, going on about missing Seamus turning Dean's hair into a bird's nest on accident.

"Hermione was worried too, you know." Ron continued as Harry shook his robes out that had been rumpled on the floor beside his bed. "When I told her you were still asleep, she got all funny and stammered to let you sleep. What is with everyone?" He looked closer at Harry, who refused to meet his eyes. "Are you involved in this thing that she's keeping a secret?" he inquired, gazing suspiciously at his best friend.

Laughing to the point where he was almost in tears and raising a surprised look from Ron, "Yeah ok Ron, I'm having sex with my best friend…" he replied sarcastically, "and we've been meaning to ask, would you wanna join?"

Ron's face turned up in disgust and he looked away, but not before he heard the bite of humor in that remark. "Alright, alright, never mind. I should've known not to ask that. But now both of you are acting weird… I hate being left out." He turned to look at Harry one more time before heading out. "Potions is in 15 minutes… you better hurry."

Harry nodded, still off in space. He wandered to the window, looking out at the trees. 'Should I talk to Hermione? Of course she'll be upset but I'm her friend, damn it. I told her I'd support whatever she wanted to do… even if that doing is Malfoy…' He sighed, and headed to the dungeons.

When he entered and sat down next to Hermione, many eyes turned to him in curiosity. No one failed to note his absence at breakfast and Transfiguration, and like always, the whispers commenced. Hermione shot dirty looks at many of them and looked sideways at her friend. "I know Ron was lying to McGonagall about your scar giving you problems. Your face is always pale when that happens, and right now you have more color than normal. I'll second what you told me yesterday. If there's anything going on, you can trust me…" she whispered, suspicion and worry in her eyes.

Harry sighed, still arguing with himself on what to do. He relented on his first instinct. "Meet me at DA Headquarters after Dinner. We need to talk." he muttered, glancing up at her briefly to catch her face paling. They snapped to attention as Snape entered the room with his usual slamming of the door, and class began.

They avoided each other all day, confusing the hell out of Ron even more. McGonagall stopped him after lunch as he was leaving the Great Hall. "Potter, whether or not I believe Mr. Weasley's story on why you slept through my class is irrelevant to the fact that if you pull that again, you'll be writing out my lessons every night as detention for the remainder of the year." She glanced sharply at him. "Whatever it is bothering you, you may come to my office after classes if it's needed." She said quietly, and walked away. Pansy Parkinson and her little cackling group watched him from the stairs, snickering at him for getting a lecture. He glared at them, and took off outside, needing some air.

Harry paced the gardens for a while, trying to figure out how he was going to explain to Hermione that he knew her secret, and even harder was going to be explaining he didn't hate her for it being Malfoy.

Somewhere nearby hidden behind the shrubbery, someone watched Harry pace, the eyes narrowing in thought. Those same eyes had seen the very thing he was pacing about, lost in thought. The eyes; belonging to a student in normal everyday Hogwarts robes with a bright red and gold tie, shifted away from Harry as they walked off.


	3. Chapter 3

"This jewel box is a family heirloom passed to me by mother, and her mother before that as a gift for brides marrying into the family. Since you are my only child and coming to an age where a suitable woman is desired to find, I pass this to you to hold dear and maybe someday soon find the one your heart claims. Don't be too hasty in finding her, Draco. Your father and I pursued each other for years before my mother gave it to me. With the events of late and the Dark Lord's ressurection, I wish you to have this, in case anything at home should go afoul. Have a good term, my son, and don't tell your father.

With Love,

Your Mother"

Hermione gulped, blushing and staring at the box. The silver wrapping around emeralds formed the Black Family Crest. She was puzzled, as she was of the impression that Narcissa loathed anything relating her to the family due to Tonks and Sirius. 'Apparently there's more than meets the eye about his mother…' she thought, and smiled at going down to dinner, Hermione sped up to her dormitory to drop off her books and brush her hair. It was unusually windy when she left Herbology, and her hair that was normally bushy was almost completely to one side of her head. She caught her refection in the mirror by her bed and groaned. As she reached for her brush, she heard a movement behind her. Thinking it was Lavender, who often came to chat with Hermione since her and Ron's unsuccessful relationship (if you'd call it one), she didn't turn around but called out, "Hey Lavender, can you grab me the red ribbon I have tied to my bedpost?" She kept brushing her hair, and reached up when a hand thrust the ribbon near her face from behind. "Thanks, Lavender." She said, and placed the ribbon in her mouth to hold it as she finished situating the part in her hair. Turning slightly, she realized whoever it was in the room was not Lavender, and froze. Moving as slow as she could, she turned more. Catching a glimpse of the person's robe trailing off out the door, her heart skipped a beat. Who was that? Not Lavender, not Ginny… they'd have struck up a conversation as soon as I asked for the ribbon. She was left standing in front of the mirror, a red ribbon hanging loosely from her mouth, hair half parted and face pale, lost in bewilderment. "What the bloody hell..."

/

Harry was sitting on a plush armchair that had appeared in the Room of Requirement, waiting for Hermione. When he entered the room, armchairs and a huge couch appeared in front of a roaring fire, a low table with it all. It took him a few moments to realize the table held a pitcher and glasses which he discovered held pumpkin juice, and a slender cylinder glass that held an unknowing steaming liquid next to it. He wasn't too keen on tasting it, and left it for Hermione to figure out what it contained. He sipped his juice and stared into the flames, wishing he could talk to Sirius about how to deal with this... of course it wasn't possible but he worried he would falter in support. The only thing keeping him sitting in the chair was remembering the calm, happy look Hermione had had on her face for a long time, which for the first 2 years of school he'd thought was never going to happen.

"Sorry I'm late… someone was lurking around the dormitory and spooked me a bit." Hermione explained as she came in quickly and shut the door. She looked a little nervous, and Harry couldn't help but smile at the fact that she had her hair tied back, which she only did when she was stressed. She slowly sat in the chair to the side of Harry, and took a breath. "So... um, what do we need to talk about?" she stammered, clearly afraid of what he was staring at the fire so intently about.

There were a few moments of utter silence, broken only by the subtle crackling of the flames. "I know who it is." He said quietly, the weight of his admission struck the silence louder than either of them could stand.

Hermione let out a squeaky breath she'd been holding, and her head fell into her hands. "Harry… I… how did you… " she faltered, words failing her as she felt completely hopeless, mistaking his silence for anger or disgust.

Hands came around her and she lifted her head, Harry's face a few inches from hers; his arms holding her loosely. He lightly kissed her mouth and smiled in a quirky manner. "Do you love him as much as he loves you?" he asked, a brotherly look in his eyes.

She was taken aback at the statement, and smiled, nodding. "You… you don't hate me? You don't want to kill him?" she asked him. He shook his head, and sitting down next to her, told the story on how he found out about her and Malfoy. When he finished, Hermione was bemused at hearing Draco had confided in Firenze, whom they all thought he despised.

"I should tell you… I'm not jealous, nor am I mad about all this. But…" he grinned at her. "If you want me to keep this a secret as well, I only have one request." She raised her eyebrows at him, waiting. He leaned in to say it into her ear.

"Can I join in sometime?" he whispered in her ear, and softly nibbled the earlobe as he pulled away.

Hermione was stunned, and turned on at the same time. She looked at Harry, her eyes wide in surprise. "I think I'd have to… discuss it with him first… Oh shit, Harry, how are we going to tell him you know?! I don't know how he'll react to this!" she reached over for the pumpkin juice and stopped, staring at the cylinder glass of whatever it was.

"Oh yeah, I was going to ask you if you knew what this was. It appeared with the juice and I didn't want to try and found out whatever potion the room thought we needed." He shrugged.

She held it near her nose and smelled it. Swirled it around lightly in the glass, observing how the color stayed the same. "It's a Calming Potion. Perhaps the room thought it was needed just in case…" she smirked. "This room never ceases to surprise me." She put the glass down, poured a bit of pumpkin juice for herself and sat back, sipping it. "You know, this is where most of our nights were spent… this Room is definitely anything you may need."

Harry chuckled, and put his arm around her, satisfied the conversation went well.

*~*~*

Hermione waited until the whole castle fell silent before slipping out to find Draco. There were two places he'd wait for her if he wasn't in bed: the garden fountain, or on the stairs leading to the Observatory. She went to the garden where he was most often and found him sitting facing the water, a bundle next to him. She walked up behind him, and ran her fingers through his hair as he leaned into her touch. "Hey… did you sleep ok last night?" he asked her. She giggled and sat down next to him.

"Yes… very fun dreams…" she replied, looking at him wickedly. He smirked, nodding in agreement.

They were both quiet, Hermione trying to decide if she should tell him now, and Draco looking at the bundle he brought with him.

"I have something to tell you."  
"I have something to give you."

They said at the same time, and both laughed.

"You first," he said.

"No, you first, this can wait… and I'm dying to know what that is." She pointed the bundle, smiling, relieved as he relented to her.

He undid the bit of string that held the cloth together to reveal a silver and emerald encrusted jewel box. His cheeks flushed crimson as he looked at it sitting in his hands. "My mother's family passes this down to brides in the family..." he trailed off. He looked up at her, and placed it into her lap, her hands enfolding the sides. "She gave it to me at the start of the year to keep safe. The note she left with it in my trunk is right here." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the parchment.

"My son,

"Dee… Are you sure about this?" she asked softly, looking him in his eyes.

He nodded slowly, and held her face in his hands. "I had some time to mull things over… and I think following my heart is the best course of action although I've never ever done it before."

She sighed, and he leaned forward to kiss her, both melting into each other. "Now," he whispered, "What was it you had to tell me?"

She looked fairly panicked, and he saw it. "Dee… someone knows. Please believe me, I didn't say a word. He… he followed you into the woods the other night. He told me the whole story and he doesn't hate you or me for it. He's happy we're happy and wants to…" she blurted out. Before she continued though, Draco stopped her.

"Who is it, Hermione?" he asked quietly, not looking at her, his body tense. "I think I already know, but I want to hear you say his name." She sniffled, suddenly petrified.

"Harry… he saw you leaving for the forest and followed you. He heard everything you said to Firenze. He wouldn't tell me what you talked about; just that he knew and was ok with it." She paused, looking at him.

"Well… as long as he doesn't try to kill me…" he muttered.

Hermione was in shock. "Wha… you mean… it's ok? You're not pissed?" she asked, not believing what she'd just heard. He looked back at her, his body relaxing, embarrassment on his face.

"Like I said, as long as he doesn't try to kill me. Hermione," he said. "You have to understand something. A lot of things have changed to me, and whether I'm the same pompous ass in public has nothing to do with how I feel and who I am behind that mask. I love you, and I know Harry is probably the only man that will ever be by your side no matter if we're together or not. My opinion of him is still in limbo, but I'm open to discussing things between the three of us, granted he can keep this secret."

Her body relaxed then, and her heart slowed down from the frightened beating that had pounded her chest. She wiped away the stray tears, happier than any moment in her life. He reached and held her close, their foreheads touching, taking comfort in the moment.

Behind a wall, eyes watched them, narrowed in anger and fear before retreating back into the darkness.

*~*~*


	4. Chapter 4

::BOOM::

"Bloody hell, Hermione, what's your problem?!" Ron yelled, scrambling under a table that hadn't been blown up. "All I said was that you look like you haven't slept lately! Don't do that again! I rather like my body in one piece and alive!"

Seething, she pointed her wand at him again. "That's not what you said! You said I look like someone had thrown me into one of Snape's potions gone wrong! And I wasn't trying to kill you, I was practicing something and you distracted me!" she yelled back at him, waving her wand and repairing the destroyed tables in the common room.

"Jeez, I'm sorry… why do you get so defensive when I even open my mouth to you?"

"Because ever since the start of term you have been on my case about how I don't spend enough time with you and Harry; IT'S CALLED A SOCIAL LIFE! Maybe if you had one you wouldn't be trying to pull a curtain over mine you could help yourself get one!" she harrumphed and began packing her things.

"Well excuse me if I am worried about my best friend! You look like shit! You got bags under your eyes that look like they can fit the entire Hogwarts library in them, and you've been snapping at the PROFESSERS for god's sake. I'm just worried is all," he added sheepishly, hoping she wouldn't blow up again.

Hermione sat there, stunned. In the five years they have been friends, Ron had never yelled at her like this before, September and October 1st Year doesn't count. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, wincing as it got caught in a knot. "Ron," who flinched, "thanks. I know you're worried about me, but apart from being a little sleep deprived, I am the happiest I have been since my first Halloween here."

**

During dinner, the other Griffindors were relieved to see the famous trio more at ease then they'd been in months. Harry and Hermione cracked jokes so much that Ron had showered Lee and Seamus twice with pumpkin juice and a very amused Ginny with mash.

"I see you three are back in action. About time… if none of you had cracked another smile or played a prank by end of term I was going to hex all three of you." Ginny giggled as she wiped mash from her robes. "Hermione… I wonder, can I steal you from these two for a minute when you're done?"

Hermione nodded, having laughed so hard during dinner she lost all ability to speak. Harry was quite proud of himself, as he had bewitched the potato chips to dance with drumsticks on Colin's head. "Sorry Colin, but you were the best candidate to pick on tonight. No hard feelings?" he asked, and Colin nodded, his face red from embarrassment and his own amusement at the situation.

In the Hall, Hermione saw Ginny sitting on the side walkway, tapping the end of her wand on her chin. She smiled and walked up to her. "Be careful with your tapping, Luna did that not too long ago and ended up half frozen from snow that exploded all over her."

Ginny grinned and motioned for her to follow. They walked around the inner grounds, talking about dinner's entertainment until Ginny fell quiet.

"Is something the matter, Ginny?" Hermione commented, watching Hagrid wallop after a centaur colt Firenze had asked him to teach about not coming past the treeline.

"Yes… did you know that Harry and I have been sleeping together?" she replied quietly. Hermione paused in her stride, face flaming red. "W...Well now…" she stammered, "That would explain Harry's notions to accept more rather that fly into a fight. So what's wrong then? You seem happy."

Ginny sighed. "I uh… well… Harry's been pre-occupied lately, and I wanted to try something new, but I really have no idea if he'll like it or it'll scare him." She smiled cynically, shrugging.

Hermione sat them both down, and looked Ginny in the face. "I'm intrigued. What is it you were thinking of trying?"

Ginny's face turned bright red. "Well, see… I overheard a few Slytherin girls talking something about a phantom hand spell someone came up with and wrote on their lavatory wall… and I was trying to hear more about it but they saw me and took off to the dungeons..." she smirked. "I'm trying to decide if it's worth bribing someone to copy it down or some other way to get it."

Hermione, trying not to laugh at the irony of the place it'd be, schooled her face to be as serious as she could. "Meet me in the Common Room after everyone goes to sleep." She said to her friend, patting her shoulder and ran back to the castle, leaving Ginny sitting where she was with a very curious expression on her face.

Hermione spotted Draco alone, walking as slow as possible back to his Common Room, and ran faster, hoping to be able to get the message to him. She ran even faster, looking back from time to time to see if anyone was in sight. No one around, she muttered as she passed, "Girl's bathroom, copy the nightlife message. Fountain at seven."

Draco paused in his stride for a moment, staring at her as she took off and around a corner, disappearing. He thought about it for a few seconds before the statement made sense. Smirking, he picked up his pace.

**

Watching the last rays of the sunset sitting on his normal window perch, Harry was deep in thought about the many things that had happened, past and the recently developed. Ginny, and their relationship; that seemed like it was on hold, as much as it pained him, he couldn't tell her what it was that distracted him and stole most of his thoughts. He honestly didn't think she'd understand. The whole situation between Hermione and Draco had him tense. While he accepted what they wanted and what kept them happy, he felt the older-brother complex changing his demeanor. And something else… he had always been somewhat attracted to her. Not in a way where he'd want to be with her, but he liked spunky, headstrong girls. Often a few things that he randomly tried with Ginny he'd at least once wonder what it'd be like to try it with Hermione. His subtle question of a threeway with her and Draco was honestly something that turned him on like hell.

Even more than that… he'd liked Draco for a long time. A secret Harry kept deep was that he was bisexual. Something he would NEVER tell anyone of course, but now the thought of his secret desire maybe coming true thrilled him in a way more than anything in his life. He grinned to himself, and moving to lay on his bed, thought of the many dirty things he wanted to do to both of them.

**

Draco was just walking up to the fountain a little later that night, quite intrigued by the spell he'd found written on the wall of the girl's levorotary. He'd copied it down twice, hiding one copy under his mattress, and had the second in his hand. Hermione rounded the corner, smiling.

"So why did you want this?" Draco grinned at her, kissing her softly. She blushed, "Helping out a friend…" she laughed as he crossed his eyes. "Dare I even ask?" She shook her head at him, and kissed his cheek, taking the piece of parchment from him. "I have to get this to her, and I expect you to be in the Room by midnight." He shook his head, smirking at her as she started to walk back. "I'll be there, baby…"

**

Ginny was just finishing her Potions homework when Hermione returned to the Common Room. Cocking her eyebrow at her, she put her quill down and shut her book. "So… what was all this about anyway?" she asked, slightly confused on Hermione's excitement, who plopped herself on an armchair. She pulled out the piece of parchment, and enchanted it to float to Ginny. Raising both her eyebrows, she grabbed it and read. "Oh my… how did you… wha… why? How?" she stuttered, a huge grin on her face.

"Just keep in mind that I may ask a favor in return for that some day." Hermione replied at her friend, and yawning, got up and headed upstairs.


End file.
